Murder on Movie Night
by TessaCollins
Summary: When a heinous crime is committed on Movie Night at the Twelfth Precinct, only New York's Finest can solve the case before the murderer strikes again. Can Detective Beckett and Non-Detective (Oh Pearlmutter!) Castle solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? Read on to find out!
1. Our Intrepid Heroes are Introduced

**These characters and the fictional setting belong to ABC, Beacon, and the affiliated writers.**

"Hey Castle, can you give me a hand with the popcorn?" hollered Detective Kate Beckett from the kitchen of the Twelfth Precinct Homicide Squad of the New York City Police Department.

"Coming!" replied Richard Castle, who had just ran through the double doors at the front of the precinct, drugstore bag of artificial popcorn butter in hand. It was the first movie night at the precinct, and already they were in crisis. Beckett couldn't figure out how to get the popcorn popper to work, and they had forgotten the butter, hence Castle's errand from which he was just returning. New York City's finest homicide detectives were crammed into one small room off the larger desk area that held a huge screen. It had been Castle's idea to use the screen for movie night once a month, since it never got used for anything else. After a recent budget increase, the precinct, or rather Captain Gates, had decided to purchase a SmartBoard to use in favor of Beckett's dry-erase board, but Beckett didn't trust the technology, which was endearing and frustrating to Castle, who loved his gadgets. He had frequently encouraged her to use the SmartBoard, but she was resolute in her decision to use her famed murder board, made famous as hers in Castle's hit novels about Nikki Heat.

Castle hadn't been writing much recently, and there was really only one reason for it. His partner, friend, and as of recent times secret girlfriend Beckett had been occupying the vast majority of his attention for several weeks now. Though this might have served as inspiration for some, Castle wanted to enjoy their new relationship for a while before he wrote it down to share with the general populace. For even though he used fake names, and the character based on him was a journalist, not a mystery novelist, it was no secret who he based his books on. If he wrote about a fictional relationship with Nikki Heat, it would stir up trouble in the precinct. Not only would Captain Gates fire him from his "job" as Beckett's partner, but Kate would likely be furious with him after having to endure teasing from their colleagues, Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito.

Given that Beckett was unlikely to stop using her murder board, Castle had recommended that the SmartBoard be put to use in the name of entertainment. Of course, all this was to take place after Captain Gates had left for the evening – she was likely to disapprove of any recreational use of her precinct's investigative tools, especially if it involved Castle. Most of the detectives were already in the murder-turned-movie room, but a few were still milling about their desks, putting away paperwork before they went in to watch the movie.

Castle dashed through the room, nearly crashing headlong into Beckett as she ran out of the kitchen to meet him. "Hey, Castle. So I plugged the machine in and put the kernels in but it's just making this whirring noise and hissing at me so I unplugged it. I think it's broken."

Castle suppressed a laugh, knowing full well that she was armed and ready to fire if he made fun of her ineptitude with technology. "That's what it's supposed to do. It has to heat up for you to make the popcorn."

"Oh…" Beckett looked down, embarrassed. "Well I guess that makes sense. Why don't you finish the popcorn while I get the movie going?"

"Um, Kate, the thing is…" Castle trailed off, not wanting to break it to her that if she couldn't work the popcorn maker, the SmartBoard might be a bit challenging.

Luckily, before he could finish, Ryan popped his head through the door. "You guys just about done in there?" he asked. "We've got the movie ready in there. Just need the popcorn."

_Saved by the bell_, thought Castle. "Yeah give us just a second. Hey what are we watching?"

"I don't know, some horror movie. Javi brought it in," replied Ryan over his shoulder, heading towards the movie room.

"You go ahead. I'll be in in just a sec," Castle addressed Beckett.

"I'll save you a seat," she replied, and winked at him. A dark room, his girlfriend, a horror movie, buttery popcorn. What could possibly go wrong? _Nah, better not say that_, thought Castle. _Something bad always happens when they say that_. Castle poured the now-popped popcorn into a big clear bowl, licking butter off of his fingers as he headed in to see the movie.

They had already started it when Castle came in, so he handed the popcorn to some guy he didn't know in the first row who was wearing round glasses and a nice looking leather jacket. "I like your jacket," whispered Castle, and the man looked up at him and then hastily away.

"Thanks," the guy replied, looking back to the screen. Castle walked to the back of the room where Beckett had saved him a seat as promised. He sat down to enjoy the movie, filled as it was with gore, violence, and loud spooky noises. If any of those sounds had come from something other than the movie, who would have noticed?

The movie ended with a shot of the main character's mangled body on a sidewalk, his guts pulled out around him by the invisible murderer in the film. The lights came up, and Castle looked to Beckett, and then past her.

On the seat beside her lay the body of one of the detectives that worked with Ryan and Espo sometimes, someone Castle had known casually, but he hadn't been on a first name basis with. The throat of the man had been slit, his blood already soaked in to the fabric on the seat of the chair his body was slumped over. "DEAD!" Castle shouted.

"Yeah, he died, Castle," said Beckett giving Castle a condescending look not without affection. She had not yet noticed the body next to her.

"No, I mean DEAD," Castle clarified, pointing over Beckett's shoulder to the dead body beside her.

For once, Beckett was truly startled. "Holy shit!" she shouted, noticing the victim.

Castle groaned, somewhat sarcastically. Murder was always interesting, but he was sure this would be the last movie night at the Twelfth.

"Somebody call the Captain," said Beckett, who had already composed herself and was looking at the body with expressions of sadness and trepidation equally present on her pretty face.

"Do you think she'll be mad we didn't invite her?" Castle asked of no one in particular.


	2. Gates Returns

**Thank you for all the awesome reviews and follows! The little emails I get make me so happy every day. I'm sorry this has taken so long! I have been very busy but I will be trying to update more regularly in the next few weeks. Happy reading!**

_**Disclaimer: All main characters and the cool world they live in belong to ABC, Beacon, and their affiliated writers.**_

Ten minutes later, Beckett stood in front of her already-assembled murder board. "How did you…?" Castle trailed off as he headed towards Beckett and her board, coffees in hand.

"How did I what?" queried Beckett, smirking at Castle's dumbfounded expression and taking the coffee in his left hand.

"Nope that's mine," Castle mumbled, shifting his other arm forward to hand her the mocha with hazelnut. He liked his coffee without flavoring.

"Thanks, Castle," Beckett said appreciatively, taking a sip of her coffee.

"So how did you get this assembled so quickly?" Castle asked, gesturing to the murder board with his non-coffee hand.

"Well," Beckett began, sipping her coffee again, "he's staff, so we already had most of his information and his picture. Thomas Daley, that's our vic. He was a vice cop for five years down at the third precinct, but transferred here after his wife was killed. Good cop. Real nice guy. He had two kids, and a mother living in New Jersey."

"Did they ever catch the guy that killed his wife?" Castle asked.

"Nope," replied Beckett, her mouth hardening into a thin line. Castle didn't miss the pain in her expression. He realized that Beckett had gone through something similar when her mother had died. Beckett was only nineteen when it happened, and in pre-law. She became a cop after that, youngest on the force. She was still chasing her mother's killer years later. Castle considered asking her about it, or if she wanted of the case since it was so similar, but remembered that she was likely armed and unlikely to talk about it in such a public setting.

"Where are his kids gonna go?" Castle asked instead.

"Probably to Daley's mother," Beckett mused. "Unless she's too old to care for them, in which case they'll go into foster care."

"Hm," Castle thought of his daughter and what she would have done if Castle had been killed instead of Thomas Daley, who was unlucky enough to be the target of murder on their movie night. "If I die, make sure Alexis gets full custody of Martha," Castle joked, and he saw Beckett smile, if just for a moment and just barely.

"Will do, Castle, but I won't plan on needing to, if you don't mind," replied Beckett, smiling and moving to lean on the edge of her desk by where Castle stood. She tilted her head towards him slightly, and then away, as if remembering that she shouldn't show him affection in public.

"How are you doing?" whispered Castle, staring intently at the murder board as not to draw attention.

"I'm fine," Beckett assured him. "I didn't even really know the guy."

Castle again considered asking her about the similarity to her mother's case, but deciding against it, asked her instead: "did they have any suspects in his wife's case?"

"Yeah, they did. Regina Garrellas. She had a history with Daley's wife, Karen. Apparently Karen was a social worker, and had worked a case against Garrellas, who was allegedly abusing her children. The case went through and Garrellas spent some time in prison after her kids were taken away. The charges against her were overturned for Karen's murder though."

"How come?"

"She had a solid alibi for the time of Karen's murder." Beckett said, frowning. "I wonder what it was."

"Me too. Do you think she may have decided to take revenge on Daley instead?" asked Castle, not really thinking it was likely.

Beckett nodded, though her expression was skeptical. "It's possible…" she began.

"But murder is a step up from hitting your kids, and she didn't really have a reason," Castle finished. "Karen was dead already. Why would Garrellas target her husband if he had no involvement?"

"Exactly," affirmed Beckett. At that moment, Captain Gates stormed in.

"WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Gates demanded angrily.

Castle hollered to the Captain. "Several things. Among them, a terrible horror movie that Espo brought in. You weren't missing anything."

Gates shot Castle a look that could have caused lesser men to tremble in their boots. "That, Mr. Castle, as you very well know, is not what I am talking about, though I will deal with this whole movie night idea later. I think it's safe to assume that you're to blame for that."

Beckett moved to interrupt her, presumably to state that it had really been the combined efforts of the vast majority of the people working in the precinct, but Gates cut her off. "No, what I'm talking about is MURDER! In this precinct. Right under all of your noses. Did you seriously all miss this?" she bellowed.

"To be fair," Castle retorted, his eyebrow raised jauntily in the suggestion that this statement would be anything but, "it was a really loud movie. You know, gore. Screaming. Violence."

Gates glared at Castle, and he met her gaze with a challenging look across rows of desks. The Captain conceded, throwing up her hands. "Beckett," she began.

"Already on it, Sir," replied Beckett, sliding off the desk to begin work again, but not before sticking out her tongue at a smirking Castle. "Come on, writer boy. Let's go catch a killer."


	3. Cake and Interruptions

**Sorry it's been so long! Will update again soon. Good luck to all students taking finals this week and next. Happy Reading!**

**_I don't own _****Castle****_. Kate Beckett has that privilege. And by extension, ABC and Beacon and their affiliated writers._**

"So," Castle began, stepping gingerly between desks to reach Beckett and hand her the hazelnut latte in his hand. It was Beckett's third of the night. Castle was pretty sure that Beckett would try to breathe coffee if she could."Any leads yet?"

Beckett rolled her eyes at him, nodding to thank him for the coffee. "Not hardly! The body isn't even cold yet. Give it a little time, Castle."

"Okay, no official leads. But what's your take on this?" Castle responded, knowing full well that Beckett's gut feelings were often more accurate than the evidence surrounding a crime.

"Honestly?" Kate looked towards him.

"No, please lie to me."

Beckett rolled her eyes again. "Cute," she muttered. "I've got nothing. Garrellas's alibi came through for the murder of Daley's wife, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't her."

"How do you know?" Castle asked, intrigued. It wasn't often that an Beckett believed an alibi right off the bat.

"She was actually in court in New Jersey for petty theft at the time of the murder." Kate frowned.

"Ah, I see. That's a damn solid alibi if I've ever heard one. She still could have killed Daley, though."

"Unlikely. If she didn't kill his wife, why would she kill him?" Kate replied, puzzled.

"Well, even if she didn't kill Daley's wife, she may have wanted to. But someone else beat her to the punch, so she took it out on Daley," Rick pointed out.

"That's a surprisingly solid theory, Castle. I'm impressed." Beckett said appreciatively. "I'll have uniforms bring her in."

"Always the tone of surprise," Castle muttered as Beckett called to Ryan across the precinct to have him help bring Garrellas in.

Beckett heard this, and smiled to herself before turning back to Castle to whisper in his ear. "Now, Rick, what do you say we call it a night?"

Castle blushed and looked around furtively to see if anyone had noticed. "I think that's an excellent plan," he replied, and picked up his jacket. He left swiftly for his apartment without Beckett, as they had taken to doing. Castle would leave, take a cab home, and ten minutes later, Beckett would follow. Personally, Castle felt that this was a bit excessive, but Beckett was resolute that this would be how they managed their relationship. And to be fair, Gates was very observant, and would kick Castle off of Beckett's cases at the slightest whiff of romantic entanglement. Castle found the idea of romantic entanglement very appealing right now, and promised the cabby a large tip if he drove fast. Castle wanted to do something special for Beckett tonight.

She was bound to be stressed what with the Daley case hitting so close to home, literally and figuratively. He had to admit that he was a little spooked, too. A romantic, relaxing night would do them both good.

As the cab pulled up to his apartment, Castle threw a wad of cash at the driver and dashed upstairs to get things ready. Alexis was sleeping over at her friend Marika's house tonight, and his mother would be at the theater performing a late show and would likely get home around six the next morning. He ran around the house, lighting candles as he went. He made the bed in his room and preheated the oven to make some small chocolate tortes. The recipe was fairly simple, just mainly chocolate and butter, but the result was a decadent and rich cake that Beckett loved.

He threw the ingredients together and had just managed to pour the mixture into ceramic ramekins that went into the oven when a knock came at the door. _Kate must have forgotten her key_, Castle thought as he ran for the door. He checked his reflection in the mirror by the kitchen and smoothed down his hair before answering it.

"Kate!" Castle exclaimed excitedly, throwing open the door. To his great dismay, Ryan and Esposito stood behind her. His face fell promptly as he realized that his scheme for a romantic evening was unlikely to be played out. Beckett gave him a pointed look, clearly indicating that he should not say anything.

"Having someone over, Rick?" Beckett queried, unable to keep the smile out of her voice.

"Actually, I was. Obviously not anymore," he replied, winking at Beckett when he thought Ryan and Espo wouldn't be looking. Javi and James shared a meaningful look behind Beckett's back as Javi mouthed _Rick?_ and raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"Anyways, we brought Garrellas in. Thought we should let you know, but you weren't picking up your phone," Beckett said.

"Oh yeah, well I was getting this ready. I guess I'll just come with you back to the station then." Castle replied, a bit forlorn at the ruin of his romantic plans.

"Fine by me," Beckett affirmed, turning on her heel to walk out of his apartment. Castle went to follow, blowing out the candles he passed, and figuring the rest could burn down. He probably wouldn't be at the station for too long. Ryan elbowed Espo and nodded to the stove, which Espo dutifully turned off for Castle. Ryan realized something, and decided it would be a good opportunity to make Castle and Beckett squirm. They still thought that no one at the precinct knew about their relationship, so Javi and Ryan had taken to making jokes around them that hinted subtly that they knew what was going on.

"Hey Castle, don't you think you should call her?" Ryan called from Castle's kitchen.

"Call who?" Castle asked.

"That girl you were having over." Ryan smirked, and Espo came to stand behind him, a similar expression on his face.

Castle froze and turned bright red. "Yeah, I'll just…I'll just go and get my phone from the bedroom," he stammered.

"Hey you do that," Javi yelled after him, snickering with Ryan at the awkward expression on Castle's face and the amused one on Beckett's. Ryan and Espo bumped fists before Castle reentered the room, and they all took off in Beckett's car for the precinct.


End file.
